Early Science Using GPI: Planets Shape a Binary Disk

Left: J-band polarized intensity (P⊥) images. Right: P⊥ scaled by r2, where r is the distance in pixels from the central binary, corrected for projection effects. Both images are shown on a linear scale and oriented north up and east left. The coronagraph is represented by the black filled circles.

Details of the disk around the binary system V4046 Sgr indicate the presence of young planets. Valerie Rapson (Rochester Institute of Technology) led the team, which made use of the Gemini Planet Imager’s polarization capabilities during Early Science observations and probe within 7 astronomical units (AU) of the stars. They found a double ring structure and the depletion of dust in the central 14 AU, which they attribute to the formation of a gas giant planet located at a distance of about 4-12 AU. A brief description of the work is on the Gemini website, and the full results are published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.